Our History
Advocacy for sporting goods retailers and dealers was the foundation of the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA).
Dealers from the Midwest and South created the Sporting Goods Distributors Association (SGDA) on March 25, 1929 at an assembly in St. Louis, Missouri. The synthesis of the two regional associations into a national association occurred May 26 in Cleveland, Ohio, as the two groups met and officially merged as SGDA.
A fight over an unfair tax on sporting goods in the state of South Carolina in 1927 led to the formation of the Sporting Goods Dealer’s Association of South Carolina. All various regional associations merged in 1936 and the organization’s name was officially changed to the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA).
The first SGDA Convention is held January 20-21 at the LaSalle Hotel in Chicago. It is the first time the organization met since its formation and more than 120 members attended the convention. Elections for officers and directors were held and the name was changed to the National Sporting Goods Distributors Association (NSGDA).
More than 600 members attend the NSGDA convention in Chicago. Legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne gives the luncheon address and 90 exhibits are displayed.
The name of the organization is changed during the annual convention to the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA). The belief was the name was more all-inclusive of the organization’s membership and more generally descriptive of the association.
The first issue of NSGA’s Selling Sporting Goods is published. This four-page monthly bulletin is designed to keep members informed of association activities, services and programs. It expands into a monthly magazine and evolves through the years into today’s NSGA NOW.
NSGA permanently relocates its headquarters to Chicago and would remain at various locations in the city and the suburbs of Mount Prospect and Downers Grove. NSGA headquarters had also been in Kansas City, Missouri, Cleveland, Ohio, Shreveport, Louisiana and St. Louis, Missouri before settling in the Chicago area.
The NSGA Board of Directors establishes the Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame to honor the numerous sporting goods industry pioneers. There are 185 men and women who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame through 2024.
The first class of the Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame honors Frank Bradsby (Hillerich & Bradsby Co., Inc.), John M. Browning (Browning Arms Co.), Ole Evinrude (Evinrude Motors), James Heddon (James Heddon’s Sons) and Albert G. Spalding (A.G. Spalding & Bros., Inc.).
The first NSGA Management Conference is held in Bermuda. The Management Conference would eventually grow to become the premier education and networking event in the sporting goods industry.
NSGA announces a tour to the International Sports Equipment Show in Munich, Germany. The trip enabled NSGA supplier members to exhibit American-made products and gave member retailers the chance to inspect new products from manufacturers in 22 countries.
Sports celebrities are a big attraction at the NSGA convention in Chicago with Joe Namath (football), Hank Aaron and Joe Torre (baseball), Billie Jean King and Stan Smith (tennis) and Lee Trevino and Tom Weiskopf (golf) representing sporting goods manufacturers.
The first Sports Participation report is released by NSGA. The report continues to provide vital industry information about sports participation trends in traditional and emerging sports and activities.
The need for representation on the ski retail side of the sporting goods industry leads to the formation of the National Ski Retailers Association (NSRA).
NSRA becomes the National Ski & Snowboard Retailers Association (NSSRA) to reflect the boom of snowboarding and the changes in the snowsports industry.
The Team Dealer Summit is added to the NSGA Management Conference to provide specific educational programming for team dealers. Mueller Sports Medicine has sponsored the Team Dealer Summit since its inception.
Gertrude Boyle of Columbia Sportswear Co., is the first female inducted into the Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame. She is followed by Mary Cabela (Cabela’s) in 2005, Elizabeth Goeke and Ellen K. Wessel (Moving Comfort) in 2009, Julie Nimmons (Schutt Sports) in 2010, Barbara Longstreth (Longstreth Sporting Goods) in 2018 and Cathy Pryor (Hibbett Sports) in 2024.
NSGA creates the Hockey Dealers Association (HDA) division to support hockey retailers and the hockey industry.
NSGA, HDA and the Sports Distributors of Canada (SDC) form a buying collaboration for U.S. hockey retailers. The NSGA/HDA/SDC collaboration gives U.S. hockey retailers the opportunity to band together for better purchasing power.
NSGA holds its 50th annual Management Conference in Palm Springs, California. Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane is the keynote speaker of the event.
NSGA creates Speed Networking for the annual Management Conference & Team Dealer Summit. Speed Networking gives retailers and dealers the opportunity to have short, structured meetings with manufacturers in one afternoon and becomes one of the biggest hits of the event.
Cathy Pryor of Hibbett’s is elected as the first female chair of the NSGA Board of Directors. Pryor was also the seventh woman inducted into the Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame in 2024.
NSGA renames its annual event to the Leadership Conference to reflect the emphasis on industry leadership and development